Cross border rail passengers warned of major disruption

There is major disruption to cross border rail services between Belfast and Dublin because of damage to overhead lines in the Republic of Ireland.

Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail) said the Belfast Enterprise Service will have a replacement bus transfer between Dublin's Connolly Station and Drogheda throughout the morning peak, and "possibly up to lunchtime". The 09:00 and 11:00 Belfast to Dublin services have been cancelled.

About 15,000-20,000 commuters are expected to be affected by the disruption to services across the Republic of Ireland, Iarnród Éireann said.

It has been caused by damage caused to lines in the Raheny area of Dublin which occurred at about 20:30 local time on Tuesday.

"Crews mobilised after 01:00hrs and repair works are ongoing. The cause of the damage is also being determined," said an Iarnród Éireann spokesperson.

"Iarnród Éireann apologises for the inconvenience caused."

Speaking to RTE's Morning Ireland programme Barry Kenny from Iarnród Éireann said "people who can make alternative arrangements would be advised to do".

He said delaying the repair works due to a Teddy Swims concert in Malahide, outside Dublin, on Tuesday evening "was the right decision".

Starting work then, he said, would have shut the entire the line.

"I think potentially we would have had public safety issues if we weren't able to clear and help move thousands of people from Malahide after the concert last night."

There are currently no DART (Dublin's train service) DART services from Malahide and Howth to Clontarf Road, or northern commuter services from Howth Junction to Connolly.